by Rasheed Ali
"All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles
and obstacles, have strengthened me. . . . You may not realize
it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing
in the world for you. "
Walt(er) Elias Disney (1901-66)
American animator, showman, film producer
Throughout our lives we are often faced with Obstacles or Adversity.
All too often however, we let our obstacles become our adversity
or our adversity become our obstacles.
If you look back on your life, you may see this as well.
What I've found is a simple two word phrase for a person who is
ready to conquer both.
That phrase is "R.E.A.L. S.M.A.R.T." It's an acronym
that tells us the steps we need to take in order to achieve our
objective of conquering our obstacle or adversity.
Here's why a person who is ready to conquer their adversity is
R.E.A.L. S.M.A.R.T.
A "R.E.A.L." person is a person who: Realizes
Everything's Always Learned
This simply means taking the time to think, understand and most
of all learn what and where our obstacles are. The next part of
the process is learning what we need to know in order to overcome
our obstacle or adverstiy.
When you Realize Everything's Always Learned, you will also realize
that this is a circular process, and one that must be repeated for
each obstacle or adversity we face in our lives.
"Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never
cease to grow." Anthony J. D'Angelo
Now although the S.M.A.R.T. principle is one that is used in business,
I firmly believe that many of the principles of business can and
must me applied in our lives.
So here it is:
SMART = Specific + Measurable + Achievable + Realistic + Timely
Specific: A goal needs to be exact and clearly stated. Vague and
general terms are not goals. Your brain needs to focus on a specific
target.
Measurable: How do you know when the goal is completed? When stating
your goal you should state how you are going to measure when it
is complete. If you don't know the measurement then you will never
know that you have achieved it.
Achievable: Your goal must be attainable. If you have not learned
what you need to know in order to attain your goal, then you must
either learn it and then apply or find someone to assist you that
already knows what you don't. Think about past achievements or failures
in your life and apply some of the lessons that you learned.
Realistic: Being realistic is a bit tricky. What may be realistic
for you may not be realistic for others. You can see this truth
throughout your life. Keep your goal within boundaries that you
set and upgrade how realistic it is as you get closer or achieve
more.
Timely: Keep a specific time of day for working towards your goal.
In addition to that, keep a timeline of when you intend on completing
each portion of your goal. Keep track of each item completed and
when. Tracking is an essential element in achievement.
This was taken from another article I wrote called "Why
Taking Action Is Not The Answer". Where ever the word "goal"
is mentioned, you will realize that conquering your obstacle or
adversity is now your goal.
The REAL SMART principle should be applied any time an obstacle
or adversity presents itself in our lives or businesses. There is
more to be learned from them than any other time in our lives. With
that said, I leave you this...
"Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern
resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind."
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Italian painter, sculptor, architect, musician, engineer, scientist
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